Together, Always
by Mika-chan
Summary: Blaine receives some bad news during winter finals.


Together, Always

Finals at Dalton Academy were...intense. From November through December—and likewise, May through June—the entire student body transformed into a smorgasbord of cram sessions and study groups, people with short fuses and minimum patience. And although the school grounds were decorated festively, Dalton students did not take part in the excitement for the upcoming winter holidays. Rather they studied.

They studied _**hard**_.

Kurt glared at his pre-calculus textbook. "This doesn't make any sense!" he hissed smacking the book once in frustration.

Blaine made a low humming sound in his throat, eyes not straying from his U.S. history book that he was currently highlighting. Kurt didn't really see the point as he was highlighting _**everything**_. "Ask Wes if you're having trouble," he said distractedly.

Wes assumed an offended look. "You know, just because I'm Asian does not necessarily mean I'm good at math."

Blaine lifted his eyes to frown at his friend. "Wes, you _**are**_ good at math. You aced pre-calc last year."

A beat of silence passed before a smile broke out across Wes' face. "Yeah, I am pretty awesome at math." He ignored Blaine's scowl and redirected his attention to Kurt who had watched the entire exchange and was clearly not amused. "So, what's got you stuck?"

"The fact that the caliber of academics at Dalton eclipses that of McKinley in every way, shape, and form and this can't be high school; it just can't. What was McKinley then? _**Grade**_ school?"

Kurt's chest heaved up and down, his gaze slightly manic, and Wes blinked once, twice before asking tentatively, "So, that's a no for the math problem?"

Kurt's lips thinned and he glanced down at his book before rotating it to face Wes. He pointed at a formula halfway down the page. "Could you please explain this?"

Wes moved his chair closer to Kurt, the loud clattering of the furniture against the hardwood floor eliciting a collective 'shh' from the other students in the library, including Blaine.

Wes shot an incredulous look at Blaine. "Seriously?"

Blaine didn't deign to answer just continued to read.

A half hour later Wes returned to his own studies and Kurt looked slightly less stressed. It was then that Blaine stood up from the table causing his other tablemates to glance over at him curiously.

"Forgot my civil war notes in my room," he explained as he stretched his arms over his head then turn towards the exit.

"Hey, can you make sure David's alive?" Wes called out before he got too far away and garnered a few glares as a result. Wes slouched down into his seat. He hated finals time; people got so touchy.

Blaine acknowledged the request with a wave of his hand before he disappeared around some bookshelves.

oOo

Blaine had just pulled his notes from his desk drawer when he felt his phone vibrating through his pants pocket. He glanced at the caller ID before accepting the call. "Hi, Mom, I'm studying," he said hoping to cut the conversation short, which tended to work nine times out of ten.

"Honey, I have some bad news."

Blaine felt his heart skip a beat and he walked over to his bed and sank down onto his mattress. His hand automatically reached for the gray quilt he kept at the foot of his bed and he pulled it on his lap before asking, "What is it?"

Blaine's grip tightened on the fabric upon hearing his mother's response and he expelled a shaky breath.

"Oh."

oOo

"It lives."

David glowered at his best friend, who hadn't even bothered to lift his eyes from the notes he was reading to throw the barb. "Shut up," he said before placing his books on the table and sitting down beside the other.

Wes smirked into his notes and asked, "How did practicing for your Latin oral presentation go?"

David shrugged digging into his bag for a pencil. "I've got my arguments down. Just need to brush up on my concluding statements."

Wes nodded, noting something down in the margins of his Dickinson notes. "Did you see Blaine?" he asked after a minute. "He disappeared over an hour ago. Thought you tricked him into a game of Halo."

The question drew Kurt's attention away from the problem he was trying to work out. He glanced to his left and saw that Blaine's seat was indeed still vacant; he hadn't even noticed the other hadn't returned yet.

David scowled as he twirled a pencil between his fingers. "That's not even funny, Wes. You know that finals week sucks the joy out of Halo." Several people began shushing him, so he lowered his voice as he continued. "And no, I haven't seen him since I had lunch with you guys."

Wes' brow furrowed at his response and finally raised his head to look at David properly. "He went to grab some notes from his room. Said he would check up on you."

David shrugged opening one of his textbooks. "Maybe he fell asleep. Lord knows we're all lacking in that department."

Wes seemed to buy the explanation; it was hard not to. Students were lucky if they got five hours of sleep a night in December.

"I'll go check," Kurt said drawing both seniors' attentions. "He'll be even more stressed out if he finds out he slept the afternoon away." He rose from the table, rotating his head to work the kinks out of his neck. "I need to stretch my legs anyway," he added.

"Go for it, man," David said absently already fixated on his books. Wes nodded as well watching as Kurt made his way out of the library before sighing once and refocusing his attention on his English literature notes.

oOo

_"Can I open my eyes now?"_

_George and Karen Anderson shared a smile before turning back to their five-year-old son. Blaine currently had his hands covering his eyes and his entire body was buzzing with excitement._

_"Sure, sweetie," Karen said and watched as Blaine quickly removed his hands. Almost instantly the wide smile he had on his face crinkled into a frown. "That's not a dog."_

_Both adults suppressed a wince upon hearing the statement, smiles still firmly in place. They had expected this very reaction and started in on the lines they prepared. "No, it's a kitten, and they're just as great as dogs." And they don't require walking, or finding a sitter if they went away for a few days Karen added mentally._

_"Jesse's cat sleeps all day and hisses at him if he tries to get him to play," Blaine said his frown turning into a pout. "I don't wanna cat. I wanna a dog."_

_George knelt down until he was eye level with his son, the kitten cradled comfortably to his chest. "Now, Blaine, you haven't even given her a chance."_

_Blaine eyes widened. "_**Her**_?"_

_George just managed to suppress his grimace before motioning Blaine to come closer. "Come here, Son."_

_Blaine took a tentative step forward and peered at the sleeping kitten in his Dad's arms. It had gray fur with black stripes and was so tiny. Its size reminded him of Oliver from __Oliver & Company__, but everyone knew that Dodger was cooler in that movie than Oliver ever was. He wore sunglasses after all._

_Karen knelt down and tracked Blaine's hand as he reached out and gave a quick pat to the kitten's head before pulling back._

_They all watched as the kitten's eyes slit open to reveal green irises. A small pink tongue then slipped out of her mouth before she yawned._

_She was _**adorable**_ and from the awed look on Blaine's face her son thought so too._

_"Can I hold her?" Blaine asked though he already held his hands out in anticipation._

_George and Karen shared another smile. This one was more relieved. "How about you sit down and I'll hand her over to you?"_

_Blaine immediately plopped down onto the tiled floor, crossing his jean-clad legs together Indian style and again held out his hands._

_"Now copy Daddy's arms."_

_Blaine immediately cradled his arms together. "Like this?"_

_"Looks good," George said before transferring the kitten to Blaine's waiting arms._

_Blaine's eyes widened and he gasped in surprise. "She's so soft!"_

_Karen laughed and ruffled her son's curly black hair. "She sure is."_

_Blaine began to stroke the kitten's fur and giggled when she began to purr. "What's her name?"_

_"She doesn't have one yet," Karen said wondering if she had enough time to grab her camera before Blaine decided to move. This was definitely a Kodak moment._

_"Can I give her one?"_

_George smiled. "That was the plan, little man."_

_Blaine giggled as he always did when his Daddy rhymed, and Karen rolled her eyes as she always did when her husband did something lame. Like rhyme._

_Blaine assumed his thinking face: his eyes squinted and his buckteeth began gnawing on his lower lip. He sat like that for a few minutes and Karen just couldn't stop smiling. George was having a similar problem._

_"So, what'll it be, Son?"_

_Blaine's face suddenly broke out into a wide grin._

_"Rex!"_

_Karen looked at her husband. George returned the look. A beat passed before both began to laugh._

oOo

"Blaine?"

Kurt knocked once more on his friend's door, but still did not receive an answer. He was about to leave to check the dining hall when he heard some movement behind the door. Before the door fully opened, he began to say in a light tone, "Did you fall..."

Kurt's voice trailed off upon seeing Blaine, who looked...off. There was no other way to describe it. Blaine stood with his hand still holding the doorknob and his eyes were not quite meeting Kurt's.

"Hey," Blaine said lacking the energy that was usually infused in his voice. It was reminiscent of the times Blaine was woken unexpectedly from sleep, yet this time it was different...somehow.

"Hey," he said in return, shuffling from one foot to another and feeling suddenly self-conscious. "Did I wake you up?" he asked tentatively.

Blaine blinked a few times seeming to shake himself out of whatever funk he was currently in and ran a hand through his hair. "Uh, no. Sorry. I think I just zoned out there for a bit. I...right, my notes." With that said Blaine turned around and walked to his desk. He picked up a folder with his right hand while his left hovered for a moment over something Kurt couldn't quite see. He stood there silently for a few more seconds before slipping the flat object into the top drawer of his desk.

Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong and Kurt had to be blind not to see it. "Are you okay?" he finally asked taking a step into the room.

Blaine swiveled his head to face Kurt, his movements lethargic. "Hm? Oh, yeah. It's just. Finals, you know. I'm kind of wiped."

"Yeah, me too," Kurt said not quite believing the other's explanation, but was uncertain if he should pry.

"Come on," Blaine said after a beat and walked out of his room with Kurt trailing behind him. "Let's head back to the library."

Kurt hesitated once more at the door's threshold before stepping aside to let Blaine lock up. "Sure."

After Blaine put his keys back into his pocket, they both headed out of the dorms, Kurt shooting worried glances at the other all the while.

oOo

_Blaine hurried into his house and called out in a hopeful tone. "Rex?"_

_Karen watched as her son's shoulders drooped in disappointment when he didn't see Rex waiting for him by the front door. George tried on multiple occasions to explain to Blaine how cats were different than dogs, but it seemed Blaine wanted to be stubborn for a little while longer._

_"He's probably in the living room, Honey."_

_Just last week Blaine would have sulked a bit before trudging to said room, but today Blaine simply sighed before putting his backpack by the stairs and taking off his sneakers. They were making progress at least._

_Karen took Blaine's coat before removing her own. She watched as he walked to the end of the hall and towards the living room before moving to put their coats away._

_"Mommy!"_

_Karen jumped at the shout and made her way quickly to her son without bothering to take off her shoes. "Blaine, what—"_

_Karen stopped just a foot away from her son who was sitting in the entryway of the living room. Rex was curled to his chest and Blaine was positively beaming._

_"She was waiting right here for me, Mommy!" Blaine said excitedly stroking Rex's back. "Good kitty," he said a few times and Karen hid a smile behind her hand before settling herself down beside him, their coats piled on her lap. "That's great, Sweetie."_

_"I knew you could do it, Rex," Blaine spoke directly to the kitten in question and scratched her gently beneath her chin. "Now you just need to learn how to fetch. Right, Mommy?"_

_Karen smiled brushing her hand across Blaine's hair. "I'm sure with you as her teacher, she'll learn in no time."_

_Blaine's responding grin lit up the room._

_~oOo~_

_Rex never did learn how to fetch, but over the years, she grew to be a trusted companion, always available for hugs and listened to Blaine whenever he had a story to tell or just wanted to talk. Rex always made Blaine feel better._

_"You'll still like me, won't you, Rex?" Blaine whispered into his cat's fur. "Even if I'm different?"_

_Rex pushed her paws against Blaine's chest and Blaine pulled away just enough so that she could lightly paw his nose. She meowed once and Blaine laughed even as his eyes watered and his nose turned runny. He buried his face into Rex's back and held her close._

_"I knew I could count on you."_

oOo

"Blaine?"

Blaine started and lifted his eyes from his notes to see Wes, David, and Kurt all eyeing him worriedly.

"Are you okay, man?" David asked voice cautious. "You've just been staring at the same notes for over an hour."

_"Oh, Honey, I-I don't know how to say this, but Rex died in her sleep last night."_

Blaine's eyes started to tear up and he ducked his head before standing up abruptly. "I can't study anymore," he said, voice tight. "I'm. I'm going back to my room."

"What about dinner?"

He wasn't sure who posed the question, but it didn't matter. Blaine shook his head as he shoved all his things haphazardly into his messenger bag. "Maybe later," he mumbled not really meaning it, but didn't want to deal with his friend's reactions if he said otherwise.

"Blaine—"

Blaine didn't bother to respond. Instead, shouldered his bag and left without another word.

oOo

_Blaine ran into his room and slammed the door shut behind him._

_"Blaine!"_

_"Go away!" Blaine shouted as he sank to the floor with his back against the door. He winced when he pressed his bruised shoulder too hard against the wood and felt tears building up behind his eyes._

_He couldn't do this anymore. He tried—he tried so hard every day, but he couldn't handle it anymore. His classmates were ruthless and there wasn't one moment when he didn't have a slur thrown at him, or a walk between classes that didn't end with him being shoved into a locker._

_He was so tired of trying to be brave._

_Blaine opened his eyes when he felt an insistent patting on his ankle. Rex butted her head a few more times against her master before climbing onto his lap. She mewed a few times and Blaine rubbed her head, the repetitive motion bringing about the usual effect of calming him down._

_"Rex, I don't want to go to school anymore," he whispered, admitting it for the first time out loud. "I tried. I really did, but they just won't leave me alone, and the teachers won't do anything. __I don't—Why can't I just be like everyone else? I don't want to be different anymore."_

_Rex meowed and swiped her paw against Blaine's nose and he sniffed, rubbing it and looking ashamed. "Sorry," he murmured. "I didn't mean it." She acknowledged the apology by bumping her head against his chin and Blaine lips twitched into a watery smile._

_"Blaine?"_

_Blaine jumped and twisted his body around causing Rex to hop out of his lap. "Mom, I don't—"_

_His mom cut him off speaking hurriedly through the door. "Your father and I want to talk to you. About this school in Westerville. They have a zero tolerance policy. It'll be better there, Honey. I promise."_

_Blaine stared at his door unable to comprehend what his mother had just said. Slowly, the words 'zero tolerance' filtered through and it made his chest ache because it sounded too good to be true. Did a place like that really exist?_

_"Blaine, please talk to us."_

_"Meow."_

_Blaine turned to Rex who sat poised on his carpet, green eyes staring unblinkingly at him._

_Inhaling a steadying breath, Blaine stood up and opened his door._

oOo

Blaine didn't react when the door to his room opened. He was sitting on his bed with his back against the wall and his gray quilt wrapped around his shoulders. His knees were bent and his attention was focused entirely on a photograph he held of Rex and himself.

Rex was lying with her belly across his shoulder and his face was turned towards her, a wide grin on his face. It was taken during Thanksgiving break and was the last photo they took together. The thought had his eyes tearing up again and he sniffed.

He felt his mattress dip beside him and a bump against his right shoulder.

"Who's that?" Kurt asked quietly after a while.

Blaine swept his thumb reverently over the photo. "Rex," he replied voice just as soft.

"He's beautiful."

The ends of Blaine's lips quirked up a little at that. "She," he corrected. "I was five and was hoping for a dog at the time."

Kurt huffed out a soft laugh. "_**She's**_ beautiful then," he amended.

Blaine nodded faintly. "Yeah...she was." Referring to her in the past tense for the first time hit him harder than he anticipated and he bit his lower lip when he felt it begin to quiver.

Noticing this Kurt leaned his weight a bit more against Blaine's side and placed his head on the other's shoulder. The contact was comforting and Blaine did the same not long after.

"She wasn't even sick," he said after a while, frustration entering his voice and his grip tightened enough that the photo wrinkled a bit. "I. She wasn't supposed to—I know she's just a cat. That I shouldn't be this upset, but she was there. For everything. It's stupid, but I..." His voice cracked and his vision blurred.

"I loved her so _**much**_."

The sheer anguish and pain Kurt heard in Blaine's voice shot too close to home. Because it wasn't stupid. Not at all. Kurt understood loss and what it meant. He knew it didn't matter whether it was human or pet. Parent or friend. Loss was loss and it always, always hurt.

Kurt maneuvered his arm until it was wrapped around Blaine's right, pulling them closer, and said, "Tell me about her."

Blaine sniffed and brushed his thumb across Rex's photograph again.

"I was five," he said. "And I really, really wanted a dog. I got Rex instead."

Blaine told Kurt how he tried to teach Rex to fetch and how it was an utter failure. Rex wouldn't ever bring the ball back. He told him about the adventures they had in his backyard and how crazy Rex got over catnip.

He told Kurt how Rex was the first one he came out to when he was just fourteen and felt so very alone. That Rex became his outlet when the school bullying became too much and he needed someone to just listen. How he was slightly devastated when he found out he couldn't bring Rex with him to Dalton, so his mom gave him this quilt because it reminded him of Rex's fur.

He told Kurt how for a long time Rex was his only true friend, who knew all his secrets and stood by him always.

And when Blaine finally allowed the first tears to fall and pressed his face into his thighs, Kurt wrapped his arm around his shoulder and comforted him in the only way he knew how. He said things like 'she sounds wonderful' and 'you were both so lucky to have each other' and stayed with him, late into the night and until Blaine's heart didn't feel like it was going to remain permanently broken.


End file.
